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Sustainable Design: Circular Economy in Fashion and Textiles

Profile image of debbie moorhousedebbie moorhouse

2017, The Design Journal

https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1352713
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13 pages

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Abstract

Fashion is widely considered the second most destructive industry after oil, to the environment. An EU initiative called the European Clothing Action Plan has been launched to significantly improve by 2019 the sustainability of textiles across their life cycle from design to end of use. Textile waste ending up in landfills has become a huge concern globally. If every brand along the clothing supply chain begin to implement eco-friendly practices, the textile and fashion industries will become significantly more sustainable. Up to 95% of textiles land filled, each year could be recycled. (pure waste.org) With an increasing concern amongst consumers about the social and environmental impact of their purchases, businesses are beginning to understand the benefits and untapped economic potential of efficient use of waste.

Figures (8)
Figure 1 Viktor and Rolf Haute Couture 2016 made from fabrics from past collections Other Luxury brands taking steps towards a more circular economy are Viktor and Rolf. The 2016 Haute Couture collection was designed using all fabrics from previous collections and weaving them into new garments. Couture embellishments were created using beads and buttons collected from previous work.
Figure 1 Viktor and Rolf Haute Couture 2016 made from fabrics from past collections Other Luxury brands taking steps towards a more circular economy are Viktor and Rolf. The 2016 Haute Couture collection was designed using all fabrics from previous collections and weaving them into new garments. Couture embellishments were created using beads and buttons collected from previous work.
Figure 2. Emma Watson in at the Met Gala in a dress made from fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. For the Met Gala in 2016 Emma Watson wore a dress designed by Calvin Klein made from recycled plastic bottles in collaboration with Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge. Watson said, “Being able to repurpose this waste and incorporate it into my gown for the Met Gala proves the power that creativity, technology and fashion can have by working together.” (Moorhouse,D.2016) Nu-life fabric, a fabric developed in Italy, is made from recycled plastic bottles and a mix of recycled polyester fibres, produced using non-toxic dyes. It is designed to guarantee easy disposal and is 100% recyclable at its end of life.
Figure 2. Emma Watson in at the Met Gala in a dress made from fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. For the Met Gala in 2016 Emma Watson wore a dress designed by Calvin Klein made from recycled plastic bottles in collaboration with Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge. Watson said, “Being able to repurpose this waste and incorporate it into my gown for the Met Gala proves the power that creativity, technology and fashion can have by working together.” (Moorhouse,D.2016) Nu-life fabric, a fabric developed in Italy, is made from recycled plastic bottles and a mix of recycled polyester fibres, produced using non-toxic dyes. It is designed to guarantee easy disposal and is 100% recyclable at its end of life.
In May 2016 Levi Strauss and Evrnu designed the first pair of jeans made using post-consumer cotton waste. The process converts consumer waste into renewable fibres and uses 98% less water than virgin cotton products. “As technologies such as Evrnu evolve over time, there will be greater opportunities to accelerate the pace of change towards a closed loop apparel industry” (Dillinger, 2016) Mud Jeans is a unique company, which focuses on a circular model. Jeans are leased to customers for a monthly fee and then returned when no longer needed. Discarded jeans are shredded and blended with virgin cotton to make new denim fabric. Returned jeans may also be up cycled and solc as a unique vintage pair with the name of the former owner printed inside, giving a more personal meaning to the purchase. Buttons are personalised so that the owner removes them and reuses tham than virgin cotton products. “As technologies such as Evrnu evolve over time, there will be greater Mud Jeans is a unique company, which focuses on a circular model. Jeans are leased to customers Williams collaborated with G Star Raw to design a trailblazing denim collection also made using
In May 2016 Levi Strauss and Evrnu designed the first pair of jeans made using post-consumer cotton waste. The process converts consumer waste into renewable fibres and uses 98% less water than virgin cotton products. “As technologies such as Evrnu evolve over time, there will be greater opportunities to accelerate the pace of change towards a closed loop apparel industry” (Dillinger, 2016) Mud Jeans is a unique company, which focuses on a circular model. Jeans are leased to customers for a monthly fee and then returned when no longer needed. Discarded jeans are shredded and blended with virgin cotton to make new denim fabric. Returned jeans may also be up cycled and solc as a unique vintage pair with the name of the former owner printed inside, giving a more personal meaning to the purchase. Buttons are personalised so that the owner removes them and reuses tham than virgin cotton products. “As technologies such as Evrnu evolve over time, there will be greater Mud Jeans is a unique company, which focuses on a circular model. Jeans are leased to customers Williams collaborated with G Star Raw to design a trailblazing denim collection also made using
Figure 4. Pharrell Williams and Raw for the Oceans 3.3 Wool
Figure 4. Pharrell Williams and Raw for the Oceans 3.3 Wool
Since 2010, more than 3 billion plastic bottles have been diverted from landfill to make Nike products. The company’s ColourDry technology, which dyes fabric using zero water, has saved mol than 20 million litres of water and the brands Reuse a shoe program has recycled approximately 3( million pairs of shoes. Nike is rapidly moving towards zero waste. Nike Grind premium recycled anc regenerated materials are produced from original materials and products. Nike Grind materials are used in 71% of Nike footwear and apparel products, apparel trims, soccer kits and Flyknit yarns. Nike’s original goal was to “create a shoe that delivers peak performance for athletes while reducir manufacturing waste in the process. Little did they know they were creating a revolution in sustainable design”. (Nike, 2013) Flyknit technology improved design and functionality produces 6( less waste than traditional cut and sew methods. Since 2012, the technology has reduced nearly 3. million pounds of waste (Nike.com, 2016) Nike’s original goal was to “create a shoe that delivers peak performance for athletes while reducing At a Parley for the Oceans event held at United Nations, Adidas unveiled the World’s first sneakers made entirely from ocean plastic. In a poignant reminder of the importance and urgency of nature conservation, the nets used for the upper part of the shoes were retrieved from an illegal poachin vessel off the coast of West Africa. (Moorhouse, 2016) According to the Food and Agriculture organisation of the United Nations, an average of 640,000 tonnes of fishing nets remain in the oceans every year. A new version of Adidas trainers has now been launched which combines the recycled plastic uppers with soles 3D printed from ocean plastic. The ultimate goal for Adidas is to eliminate virgin plastic from its supply chain. A concept shoe is being developed from Biosteel fibr which replicates natural silk and is completely biodegradable. This concept represents premium innovation “moving beyond closed —loop and into infinite loop — or no loop at all” ( Dezeen, 2016)
Since 2010, more than 3 billion plastic bottles have been diverted from landfill to make Nike products. The company’s ColourDry technology, which dyes fabric using zero water, has saved mol than 20 million litres of water and the brands Reuse a shoe program has recycled approximately 3( million pairs of shoes. Nike is rapidly moving towards zero waste. Nike Grind premium recycled anc regenerated materials are produced from original materials and products. Nike Grind materials are used in 71% of Nike footwear and apparel products, apparel trims, soccer kits and Flyknit yarns. Nike’s original goal was to “create a shoe that delivers peak performance for athletes while reducir manufacturing waste in the process. Little did they know they were creating a revolution in sustainable design”. (Nike, 2013) Flyknit technology improved design and functionality produces 6( less waste than traditional cut and sew methods. Since 2012, the technology has reduced nearly 3. million pounds of waste (Nike.com, 2016) Nike’s original goal was to “create a shoe that delivers peak performance for athletes while reducing At a Parley for the Oceans event held at United Nations, Adidas unveiled the World’s first sneakers made entirely from ocean plastic. In a poignant reminder of the importance and urgency of nature conservation, the nets used for the upper part of the shoes were retrieved from an illegal poachin vessel off the coast of West Africa. (Moorhouse, 2016) According to the Food and Agriculture organisation of the United Nations, an average of 640,000 tonnes of fishing nets remain in the oceans every year. A new version of Adidas trainers has now been launched which combines the recycled plastic uppers with soles 3D printed from ocean plastic. The ultimate goal for Adidas is to eliminate virgin plastic from its supply chain. A concept shoe is being developed from Biosteel fibr which replicates natural silk and is completely biodegradable. This concept represents premium innovation “moving beyond closed —loop and into infinite loop — or no loop at all” ( Dezeen, 2016)
Davy J is anew swimwear brand that aims to prove that it is possible to design great competitive products that are sustainably produced. The project supports a circular economy using 100% regenerated nylon yarn from consumer waste including waste fishing nets. For every tonne of waste net collected there is enough nylon generated to create more than 10,000 swimsuits. They are also creating a closed loop resource system where at the end of life they are returned to be recycled. (thersa.org, 2016)
Davy J is anew swimwear brand that aims to prove that it is possible to design great competitive products that are sustainably produced. The project supports a circular economy using 100% regenerated nylon yarn from consumer waste including waste fishing nets. For every tonne of waste net collected there is enough nylon generated to create more than 10,000 swimsuits. They are also creating a closed loop resource system where at the end of life they are returned to be recycled. (thersa.org, 2016)
Figure 7 : Yeohlee Teng Zero Waste Fashion Design Collection 2009
Figure 7 : Yeohlee Teng Zero Waste Fashion Design Collection 2009
Figure 8. Ekocycle store in Harrods, London, products made from recycled plastics and aluminium cans in collaboration with Coca Cola. Celebrity endorsement has been a major influence in the prevalence of sustainable design within t mainstream fashion industry. A significant number of celebrities are not just using their name to promote a brand but instead becoming involved as designers, advocates and entrepreneurs. Actre Emma Watson is a UN Women, Goodwill Ambassador, ethical fashion activist and often wears sustainable fashion at high profile red carpet events. The Green Carpet Challenge launched by Livie Firth is in itself an initiative to engage celebrities to wear Ecological fashion on the red carpet and raise awareness of sustainability. Music artist, Producer and Entrepreneur, Pharrell Williams is the Creative Director and co-founder of sustainable textile company Bionic Yarn, most notably collaborating with G Star to design and launch the Raw for the Oceans collections. Pharrell has previously spoken of using his influence to convert fashion brands to sustainable textiles. Will | am first pitched his idea to Coca Cola about designing products made from recycled plastic bottles anc aluminium cans. It then took two years to get the deal done and in 2015 an Ekocycle concession store launched in Luxury department store Harrods, London. (Howarth, 2015)
Figure 8. Ekocycle store in Harrods, London, products made from recycled plastics and aluminium cans in collaboration with Coca Cola. Celebrity endorsement has been a major influence in the prevalence of sustainable design within t mainstream fashion industry. A significant number of celebrities are not just using their name to promote a brand but instead becoming involved as designers, advocates and entrepreneurs. Actre Emma Watson is a UN Women, Goodwill Ambassador, ethical fashion activist and often wears sustainable fashion at high profile red carpet events. The Green Carpet Challenge launched by Livie Firth is in itself an initiative to engage celebrities to wear Ecological fashion on the red carpet and raise awareness of sustainability. Music artist, Producer and Entrepreneur, Pharrell Williams is the Creative Director and co-founder of sustainable textile company Bionic Yarn, most notably collaborating with G Star to design and launch the Raw for the Oceans collections. Pharrell has previously spoken of using his influence to convert fashion brands to sustainable textiles. Will | am first pitched his idea to Coca Cola about designing products made from recycled plastic bottles anc aluminium cans. It then took two years to get the deal done and in 2015 an Ekocycle concession store launched in Luxury department store Harrods, London. (Howarth, 2015)

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References (7)

  1. Dillinger, P. (2016). Evrnu and Levi Strauss create first jeans from post-consumer waste, retrieved from http://Evrnu.com
  2. European Commission. (2015) Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (relating to waste), retrieved from http://eur-lex.europa.eu European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP), (2015) retrieved from http://wrap.org.uk
  3. Fletcher, K, (2014) Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys 2 nd ed. Routledge Howarth, D. (2015). Will.i.am launches Ekocycle range of products made with sustainable materials, retrieved from http://dezeen.com
  4. Kering. (2016). Beyond our limits. Sustainability Targets 2012-2016, retrieved from http://Kering.com Kohrer,E, Schaffrin,M, (2016). Fashion Made Fair. Prestel.
  5. Moorhouse, D. (2016). Adidas x Parley, retrieved from http://atelierethical.tumblr.com Newcombe, H. (2016).Davy J Swimwear Fellow Project, retrieved from http://thersa.org Nike. (2013). How Nike Flyknit revolutionised the age-old craft of shoemaking, retrieved from http://the guardian.com
  6. Nike. (2016). Top Things To Know About Sustainable Innovation at Nike, retrieved from http://news.nike.com/news/sustainable-innovation
  7. Rissanen, T. (2014). The Fashion System through a Lens of Zero Waste Fashion Design Rissanen, T.McQuillan, H. (2016). Zero Waste Fashion Design. Bloomsbury. Rosily. (2016). Stella McCartney Talks Sustainability at the Third LCFxKering Talk, retrieved from http;//sustainable-fashion.com RSA. (2016). The Great Recovery, retrieved from http://greaterecovery.org.uk About the Authors: Debbie Moorhouse is a Fashion Designer, Lecturer, Researcher and Founder of a sustainable luxury fashion brand. She is also Co-Founder of Certified Made in the UK, design and manufacturing organisation, Atelier Ethical and Made with Love global charitable recycling initiative. debbie@daniellelara.uk www.certifiedmadeintheuk.org Danielle Moorhouse is the Co-Founder of Atelier Ethical, Certified Made in the UK, design and manufacturing organisation, Made in the UK -Clothing, Fashion and Accessories and the Made with Love global charitable recycling initiative. danielle@atelierethical.net Acknowledgements: Thank you to Birmingham City University for their support.

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    Marina Bouzon

    Circular Economy and Sustainability

    The consumption increase over the last decades brought into question the efficiency of resource use and the negative impacts generated by the linear model. Thus, investing in an economic model that treats economic and environmental rationality as decision factors is essential. To successfully apply this model, it is necessary to expand the network of collaborations, with the involvement of companies from different sectors and the participation of consumers. In this matter, this work aims to identify the role of the consumer in reverse logistics (RL) for apparel in the context of the circular economy (CE) model. From a conceptual framework, the focus group method was applied. The qualitative data were subsequently coded and categorized using the Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Miner software, enabling two analyses. Firstly, a new framework was developed, which classified the factors influencing consumer participation in the return of post-consumption apparel products according to the different beliefs established by the theory of planned behaviour. It suggests that control beliefs are the main factor influencing consumers, i.e. their participation in RL depends on their assessment of the effort required to perform a particular activity. The second analysis revealed different ways the consumer can participate in RL in the context of circularity and suggested strategies to encourage product return focused on the consumer role. This work contributes with practical and managerial implications by identifying possible factors that influence consumer participation in product return. Finally, this paper presents several strategies for organizations to encourage a more ecologically position in society.

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